People not using safely managed drinking water sources in Canada

Canada: People not using safely managed drinking water sources was 1.24 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
1.24 million people
Change on year
up 1.1%
World rank
68th
of 163 countries
All-time high
1.24 million people
in 2024
All-time low
296,332 people
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

People not using safely managed drinking water sources in Canada, 2000–2024

200.0k400.0k600.0k800.0k1.0M1.2M2000201220242000: 296.3k people2001: 296.5k people2002: 298.9k people2003: 301.0k people2004: 303.1k people2005: 342.4k people2006: 382.6k people2007: 422.9k people2008: 464.6k people2009: 507.5k people2010: 551.4k people2011: 596.1k people2012: 642.6k people2013: 690.0k people2014: 737.7k people2015: 785.9k people2016: 836.3k people2017: 889.2k people2018: 943.9k people2019: 999.8k people2020: 1.1M people2021: 1.1M people2022: 1.2M people2023: 1.2M people2024: 1.2M people

Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.

Analysis

In 2024, people not using safely managed drinking water sources in Canada stood at 1.24 million people. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.

The figure is up 1.1% on the previous year and up 67.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people not using safely managed drinking water sources in Canada peaked at 1.24 million people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 296,332 people, in 2000.

Canada ranks 68th of 163 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 361,585 people 296,332 people 507,512 people 10
2010s 767,280 people 551,358 people 999,787 people 10
2020s 1.16 million people 1.05 million people 1.24 million people 5

Countries ranked near Canada

  1. 65 Japan 1.58 million people compare
  2. 66 Gambia 1.43 million people compare
  3. 67 Jordan 1.28 million people compare
  4. 69 Georgia 1.12 million people compare
  5. 70 Palestine 1.06 million people compare
  6. 71 Costa Rica 1.00 million people compare

See the full ranking of 163 places →

More environment data for Canada

All data for Canada →

Frequently asked questions

What is people not using safely managed drinking water sources in Canada?
People not using safely managed drinking water sources in Canada was 1.24 million people in 2024, according to WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest people not using safely managed drinking water sources recorded in Canada?
The highest recorded value was 1.24 million people in 2024.
What is the lowest people not using safely managed drinking water sources recorded in Canada?
The lowest recorded value was 296,332 people in 2000.
How does Canada rank for people not using safely managed drinking water sources?
Canada ranks 68th out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
Is people not using safely managed drinking water sources rising or falling in Canada?
Over the last ten years it is up 67.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Canada data come from?
The figures come from WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of People not using safely managed drinking water sources. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
People not using safely managed drinking water sources
Unit
people
Source
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
163 places, 3,991 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

People not using safely managed drinking water sources either use unimproved drinking water sources or the improved sources they use are not located on their premises, not available when needed, or not free of contamination.